Moschoforos

Moschoforos or Calf Bearer

The statue was dedicated by Romvos (Rombos), and carries a sucrificial calf for Athena.

The statue is unique in that it does not depict a single figure, nor a group of figures, but a man and a calf closely bound in an exquisite composition. The arrangement guided the sculptor to depict the arms crossed across the chest of the man as he holds the calf’s legs in a large “X”. The calf is naturally settled by its weight on the man’s shoulder as it turns its head to face the viewer. While the statue is defined with the typical geometric planes of the Archaic era, certain areas of the figure are rendered in a much more smooth manner as the muscles of the forearms are described in stone.

Atributed to the sculptor Phaidimos.
Marble, 1.64 m tall, c. 560 BCE. (Acropolis Museum)